Road-engine



"W1 (JESSES l G. B. SELDEN. ROAD ENGINE.

10.54.9160. Patented Nov'f, 1895.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

.G.B .SELDBN. ROAD ENGINE.

No. 549,160. Patented Nov. 5,1895.

lllll Tara leaf@ WITNEEEEE UNITED vSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. SELDEN, 'OF ROCHESTER, NEr YORK.

ROAD-ENGINE.

SPEUXI'ICATION forming part of Letters Pdtent No. 15d-9,180, dated November 5, 1895. incarn ma x, l, um.

.To all whom it .may concern:

1.210 it known that I, GEORGE B. Saws-N, a citizenof the United States, residing at Roch` ester, in the county of Monroe, in the State of New Yorkh have invented an Improved .-Englne, of which the following is s specification, reference being had to the acmmpanying drnwin The object of .my rnv ention is the roduction of asafe, simple, and cheap roadocomotive light in we' ht, easy to control, and possessed of snfiic ent power to-overcor'ne any ordina inclination.l

The the spplicationof steam" to common roads are the great weight of the boiler, engine,

Water, and. water-tanks, the complicated ap' paratus necessary to adapt the machine to the. roughness of the roads which it must traverse, the necessity of the attendance of a skilled engineerto preventaccidents, and the unsightly appearance of the locomotives built y carbon engine o ,full carrying on this plan. I have succeeded in overccm ing these diiculties by the construction of a road-locomotivefpropellcd-by a liquid-hydrothe compression type, of n dcsignwhich permits it to be operated in conection with the running-genr, so that the capacity of the body of the vehicle can' be utilized for the transport of persons or goods, and which, by dispensing with skilled attendance and with steam-boilers, water, water-tanks, coal, and coal-bunkers, very largely reducd the Weight`of the machine in proportion to the power produced and enables me, while employing the -most condensed form of fuel, to roud-wagou which differs pearance from and is not materially heavier than the carriages incommon use, 1s capable of being managed by persons 'of ordinary skill at a minimum of trouble and expense, and which possesses suicient power to 0vercome any usual inclination.

My improved roadengine is represented ln the accompanying drawings, in whiche- Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 1s n front elevation. Eig 3 is a vertical section through my improved hydrocarbon-gas engine. Fig. 4 is a vertical 'section through the flexible valve connections. Fig, 5 represents the slotted plate for 'operating the clutch or clutches.

I wheel for operating the fcultiesheretofore encountered in producen power. but little in ap.

A A,.Fig. 1, is the body of my improved emotive, which may be of any ordinary or d esired form, with any number of seats and with or without a. top.

B, B are the driving-wheels, which are of any usual construction, and C the trailingwheels. n D en d E are respectvely'the'springs of the if Wisttis ist e -w l to which th D are connected. e springs G is the steering device, and H- the handwhi his t uedb M3116' Y Zisibmkc c con ro yacc runnin' toglie foot-levl'ler T. g orfvgrd eliquidydrocsrbonas en i L f beconnected with eitherthr g ne ma) wheels in vehicles of 'the th6-000mp-nm drawings. convehient way of arranging the 'cylinders' of the liquid-hydrocarbon engine '1s transversal to the drigingfshaft, as shown in the drawiggs. Tliegas-engineis provided with a powershaft carryinga pinion N, meshing into the gear M,

xedto the driving-axle.' By

V attaching the cylinders, which may be'of any convenient number, totheair-reservoir O, Figs. 2 and 3, lwhich is-a she'll closed at fra nged parallel to the drivingshsft,a compact each end and ararrangemntis obtained. Ifthedriving-shaft passes through the air-reservoir, it should pass through a tube secured to the heads at eac-h endin order to avoid studing-boxes. Journals `for the drvingshaft maybe formed on the heads of the air-reservoir, r where the shaft is located outside of the reservoir, as in Fig. 3, the gas-englne-is connected with the shaft by suitable bores. ,The springs D vare attached at their lower sides to the air-reservoir or to a frame connecting'the journals on the drivingshaft and the engine. Inthe construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a. portion of the upper side of the air-reservoir is' removed and the cylinders of the ges-engine are cast in one piece with a curved ilangewhlch is riveted over thetep of the air-reservoir.. On their upper sides the springs D are connected with a frame P, which is fastened to the wormgear constituting the fifth-wheel F.

Any'form of liquid-hydrocarbon engine of the compression type may be `employed m my improved road-locomotive.

steerin or tr iling wheels; but I prefer to drive thegsteerilgtype represented in ICO 2 r Meteo.

I n the accolnpnnying drnwingsl luwc l'epresented an engine o 'r the type in whiclflijr is compressed-into a reservoir .0' by an niipunp d. Fig. 3, from which t is aidinit'ted .5 Ato th working cylinder -R, by a vulve f, operated by n. cnm-shnft S, nlo'ngwith a given quantity ofn liq'uid'hydrocarbon injected by punip g froiii the tank U into the coinbustioncham bei' T', the products of combustion, after -io expansion, 'being' exhausted th rough valve "V', 4opened by the cannshnftS,

Eig. 3 is a central. vertical section of the workingcyliuder and air-pump,an d in which for 'convenience of illustration the conibusf i 5 tion-chamber,- air-vslre, pump, zuid exhaustviilve are represented in the sume piane.. .It

will be understood thatin the .three-cylin-V dcred engine shou'n each workingcylihder is provided with suitableadmission-valves and zo' combustion apparatus and that the cranks are preferablynmanged at eau'al angles with .each other. As the general construction and mod e of operation of liquid-hydrocarbon engines of z5 this'class are-now well known, it isconsidered unnecessary to fui-therl describe thein here. The inlet-valve J't'ot thelairLpump is provided with a dust-strainer composed of ine wire-gauze, cloth, or other material for o preventing the entry of dust intothe oppa- 'ltlvunda bend in the entry-pipe maybe filled with r liquid either with or without an absorbent material to further purify. the entering air from floating particles.

products. of combustion are discharged 11nernenth the body. l.

O 5 over rough rondsand-the turning of corners, These clutches muy also be used for the purpose of disconnecting the engine from V`the trnctionwheels.. This is accomplished 'by connecting. the 'clutches with the rotating plate 'ni by means of the rods izQFi'g. E. The plate mis rotated from one o f the hand-wheels I by the flexible connection J. An' enlarged vieur of plu-tem is given 'in Fig."5. It conf o teins twopirsl slots, into which the ends of the rods i i project, so that when g'theplate.

is turned in one direction or the other the rods -i' i' will bc drawny inward or thrust ou'twtird, thereby operting; the traction-wheels. Friction or bi1-ll clutches muy b e used for this purpose.

In order up operate"the clutches and the X is the exhaust-pipe through .which the The cani-shaft S is driven by the gear M o pendeiitly' of Verich other to facilitate progress placed conveniently under the control of the en rnie-driyer, and the clu'tchor clutches nnd va ve consist of 4tubes arranged onewit-hiii the ther, as many as may b e necessary, and luipported by suitable bearings on the bodyot the road-engne. The inner connection may bea 'rod n, as shown in Fig. 4. Provision is. made for the vertiesl oscillatioof the body -of the carriage with referenceto the drivingaxie byhavrng each rod or tube com sed of two parts capable o'f sliding on esc other, but compelled tov rotate'together by s spline orpin k in` the on'e fitted into s slot in the other. At their lower ends th` connections pass into n suitable jourm'iton the gns'engine. Above this journal each connction is pro'. -yided with fa 'universal joint p q, Fig. 4,

shaft with reference to' the body of the earr1sge, the sectionsof the universel couplings .being long enough to admit of this motion in linge is mede enough -larger-than the'one it ,in closes to allow of the rotation' of the one without turning the other. The pins or lugs by which the cou gether should t in slotted holes to permit freedom .of motion'. spiral wire coils in suitable coverings ms be used instead' of the. universaloonnections' herein described. The valves of the engineble connections,- so as to` be operated there. from`in any convenient manner. The .airf

upper hand-wheel I .by the innermost-tieni- .ble connection,

endby gears c' to the valve-stem. betweentthe tank U Fig. 2, on a shaft which .is attached to the body of the carriage by suitable boxes. The worm is rotated from' the steering-wheel1i by means of the gear G and pinion t.

The Vwheels of my improved hydrocarbon roadlengihe'may be provided `with any giuit able traction device for overcoming the -resist-ance of rough or slippery ronds orthos'e of unusual inclination.

. Provision is made for bucking my improved road-engine by reversing the motion of the driving-wheels by a set of reversinggears connections J between thev hund-wheels I,

any direction. Each of the universal-coup lings are connected to,

are connected with thelower ends of the ile'x'i v iiilet' vulve d', 3, is controlled from thecommunicating at its'lower, with an extension-rodsplined ble of tnniing" ble ifonneclions, nsshown in Figs. l nur] 2in-nil which admits of the oscillation of the dririiiglllexible'shnfts made of fue irs

ripliery thereof, meshing with-` 'the worin S',

interposed bci wccn the pinion N and the gear Il, thc said gcnmbeingurmnged to be brought .into m thrown ont ol notion by one of the flexible connections already described. A suitable nrrnngement of reversin -gears applicable to this purposeis found 1n tl' system of gearing used to reverse the mot-ion of the feed-screw in engine-lathes; but I prefer to make the body of my roadengine with a crane-neck, so that the driving-wheel maybe turned completely around underneath the driver's seat wheneverit becomes necessary' to jphropel the carriage backward.

e central space between the working cylxnders and the air-pumps in which the cranks revolve into which access is had through suitable and-holes) may be used as a cool- A ing-ohamber by the introduction of a small quantity of water within it, either with or 1hi without #imh absorbent material, provision be ing made forthe of any 'vapor by an outlet either directly to the atmosphere or into the exhaust-pipe from the engine.

VIt'yvill be observed that my improved hydrocarbon-engme can be applied to a large roportion'of the carriages 1n common use. t may also applied in various 'other relations with' the propelling mechanism different from those herein described or represented wit-hout interfering with or preventing the ordinary uses ot a carriage-bod It may also be applied to carriages having perch connections between the axlesof the two pairs `of wheels.

Ii'Fig. l 'I have represented a brake-shoe attached to the 'rear axle' and arranged to be dropped into position between the wheel and the ground. It is operated-by means of a chain ofthe proper length, attaehedto the body of the carriage and provided with a. hand-wheel, spring-pawl, and ratchet. n

As it would be decidedly inconvenient to be under lthe necessity 4of extinguishing the flame in my improved traction-engine whom.

ever it was required to make a .short stop, the clutch Y (or the clutches ,7 j) is interposed between the engine andthe drivingwheels, so as to admit of the running of the engine while the carriage remains stationary.

.I am aware that steam-carriages foruseon common roads have been .heretofore constructed on many dinerent plans; but I am not aware that previous to the date of my 1n- .vention any attempt was made to reduce the weight of a roadlocomctive by the producf tion of a compression liquid-hydrocarbon engine capable of locomotion, or that there was described -or constructed a compression hydrocarbon-e'ngine'of such a design that it was capable of propelling a road1ocomot5ve,.more e. ially when the engine was 'so designed as to leave the body or platform of the carringe practically unobstructed for the conveyance of passengers or freight, except the handles or wheels necessary for. the gui ing or controlling of the vehicle and the regulation of the engine.

I am also aware that it has boon herel ofen proposed .to use'lxquid fuel in thv furnaces of steunt road-carriages for the pin-[msc ol' gcncratmg steam for propelling tlm mmc-ns shown, forinstance, in English lntcnt No. 1,538 of 1863.--and such arrangement, which does not remove any of the objections heroinbeiore mentioned, I hereby especially dis cliim, v

do not claim herein an thin shown or described in the following lnglih No. 8,201 of 1839, No. 0,052 or 1830, o. 2;737 of 187.1, No. c, 955 of 1835, and No. 'iso of 1865.

-I am also aware that it was suggested in English provisional specification No. 10 of 1878, that petroleum or other like motors might be used to provide motive power forltram-cars and other self-propelling vec es.

1. Thecombination withamad-locomotive, prov1dedwith suitable runninggearineludin apiropellingwheeland steeringmechanismm quid hydrocarbon gas-engine of thacompression type, comprising one or more power cylinders, a suitable liquid-fuel receptacle, a power connected with and arranged to run faster than the propelling wheel, an intermediate clutch or disconnecting device and a suitable carriage body adapted to the conveylclebg persons or goods, substantially as-de- ,sc

2. The combination with aroad-locomoti`ve,

provided with suitable running gear inclu ding propelling wheel and steering mechanism', of liquid hydrocarbon gaseng1ne of the compression type, comprising one or more power cylinders, a suitable liquid-fuel receptacle, a power shaft connected with and arranged to run faster than the propelling wheel, an intermediate clutch or disconnecting device, and a suitable carriage body located above the en gine, substantially as described.

l3.'. The combination with a road-locomotive provided with suitable running gear including apropelling wheel and steering mechanism, of a liquid hydrocarbon gas-engine of the compression type comprising one or more power cylinders, a suitable liquid-fuel receptacle, a power shaft connected with and arranged to run faster than the propelling wheel, an inter- Amediate clutch or disconnecting device, a

suitablecarriage bo'dy located above the engine and a exible or jointed connection between the engine and the body, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination with a road-locomotive, provided with suitable s teeringmechanism, of a hydrocarbon engine applied tothe driving axle and having flexible valve or clutch con neet-ions located within the steering mechanism, substantially as described.

6. The combina-tion with a road-locomotive rovided with a propelling wheel, of a liquid hydrocarbon as-enginc of the compression t compris g two or more working cylm, ders and'nis'tons arrangedto act in succession tents:

during the notation of the power shaft, la suitworking cylinders communicating with a m able"l iquidfu1 receptacle, suitable deviees closed crank chamber, adapted tpholda cool. for transmitting motion from the power shaft ing liquid, and a Apowe1`shn`3tgeared to mn4 to the driving ax1e,and a clutch or dseonfastert-han the propelling wheel, substantially .5 neeting device, substantially as described. as deseribed.

. 6.A -Thecoxinationwitharoad-locomotive, GEORGE B. SELDEN l'rvvidd'wf ,apropelling wheel, ofaliqm'q Witnesses=- l Y hydrocarbon gasengine of the em ression CHARLES E. RIDER,

t5q) e,fcompx7ising one pr more' un aokcted A HENRY H. SCHLEBgzgz. 

